perfection is not the goal

i’ve been seeing this idea play into my life just about every day now. not really every day, but more often than not. it’s like yousef. life is a game of yousef. the object of the game is clear - don’t lose. in fact, you can do exceptionally well in this game by going for 2nd best, 3rd best, or even just 2nd to last. you think that’s sad because the asian in you cries out against it, but it’s a freeing mindset. it’s the same mindset that compels a football team to go for the extra point - the one point. in reality, the one point is tiny in comparison to the teams potential points future touchdowns, giving them 6 points, but the goal is to not lose. the goal is to win. to beat the other team, even if just by one point. the goal is not to get 100 points, the goal is to win. 

yet, in our daily life, we create our own 100 point goal, and we aim for that 100 point goal, when in reality, our only purpose is to win. now, i’m not talking about winning as in perfection. i’m talking about your daily feats. your daily victories and your small accomplishments. those are your wins. sometimes our opponent is 1 point away, and so all we really need is 2 more points to win. but instead we go after the 100 point goal, and possibly never get anywhere to begin with. i guess i’m getting lofty and theoretical and not making sense, but what i mean is that perfection is not the goal!

here’s how it applies to me: my goal is not to be the best photographer. clearly, there are many photographers out there. many great photographers. i’ve also found a great flood of peace in recognizing that i don’t have to be the best in order to succeed. there are the basics, nailing the basics. then there’s finding what you do well, then doing that thing. that’s winning. sometimes it’s 2nd best, 3rd best, or 2nd to last place, but it’s still winning because i didn’t lose. 

so whatever you’re doing, stop trying to be the best. you’re going to burn yourself out trying to achieve something that was never meant for you. in fact, i believe the people who ARE the “best” accomplished that be their own 1 point victories. they were at 99 when they got one more point, and it was just like any other day. we all have “best” in mind, but we need to throw that out of the window if we want to start getting anywhere. [however, i DO think there is a time and place to have that “best” in mind and in sight. but i guess that’s a different ramble.] 

This was posted 1 month ago. It has 6 notes.
  1. datle reblogged this from shsueh and added:
    Agreed. In our society, there...TREMENDOUS amount...pressure...
  2. roarrrdanisaur said: encouraging right now! i am stressing about writing a lot.
  3. shsueh posted this